If you're not receiving a signal after installing a digital converter box to a TV set, you can check several things. Before anything else, check your connections to make sure everything is properly hooked up. Following this, you should execute a "Channel Scan." This operation is what programs the converter box to pick up the over-the-air TV channels. If the box is not programmed for your local broadcast area, it won't pick up any of the local TV channels. Finally, if nothing else works, you should experiment with the TV antenna.
Instructions
Check Your Connections
1. Verify that the TV antenna is connected to the converter box's "RF In" port (sometimes labeled "Ant In" or "Antenna In").
2. Confirm that the output from the converter box goes to the corresponding input on the TV set. If a coaxial cable was used to make this connection, this means there's a coaxial cable connecting the converter box's "RF Out" port to the TV set's "RF In" port. If a set of A/V cables was used to make this connection, one end of each (of the three) A/V cables should be connected to the converter box "A/V Out" jack that matches its color (red plug to red jack, white plug to white jack and yellow plug to yellow jack). The other end of each A/V cable should be connected to the matching "A/V In" jack on the TV.
3. Make sure the TV is set to Channel 3 if a coaxial cable was used to connect the converter box to the TV.
4. Use the "Input" button on the TV remote control to make sure you have the TV set to the proper video input channel. If you used a coaxial cable to connect the converter box to the TV, the input channel should be set to the RF source. If you used A/V cables to connect the converter box to the TV, the input channel should be set to the proper A/V source.
Perform a Channel Scan
5. Press "Menu" on the converter box remote control.
6. Locate and select the "Channel Scan" option.
7. Wait for the channel scan complete. You should see a meter bar on the TV monitor indicating how much of the scan has been completed. The scan is complete when the meter bar reaches 100 percent.
Experiment with the TV Antenna
8. Try changing the position of the TV antenna and performing another channel scan. Raise the antenna above reflective surfaces (such as a refrigerator or anything metallic) to avoid "multi-path interference" reception problems. Move the antenna closer to a window. Sometimes, simply changing the angle of the antenna is all that's needed.
9. Invest in a higher quality indoor antenna. Digital broadcast signals do not travel as far as analog broadcast signals. A weak signal could be the problem. The TV antenna that you used to pick up analog TV signals might not work as well for picking up digital TV signals.
10. Consider purchasing an outdoor TV antenna if you're still experiencing reception problems even after purchasing a high-quality indoor antenna.
Tags: coaxial cable, Channel Scan, connect converter, input channel, antenna that